No story, just habanero peach salsa

I’m going off the grid! First, I’m flying to Austin to be a preliminary judge at the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival on Sunday, and then I’m headed to North Texas for a few days to spend time on my grandparents’ farm. If I’m lucky, my grandma will teach me how to make fruit preserves; I hear the pears are already in season in Chambersville, and my grandma has tempted me with a recipe for pear honey. I don’t even know what that is but it sure sounds delicious! And my grandparents are due a few batches of my biscuits, which always pair well with fresh jam.

Since I’m afraid my sensitivity to chile heat isn’t what it used to be, to prepare for the hot-sauce judging I’ve been taking daily doses of habanero salsa like medicine. I leave you now with one of the salsas I made—a fruity, spicy mix made with fresh, ripe peaches, yellow tomatoes, cilantro and a habanero. It’s terrific on seafood, chicken, pork or simply as a dip for tortilla chips. I’ll be back in a few days and hopefully will have some fun stories from both the judging and from working on the farm. And if you’re at the Hot Sauce Festival on Sunday, be sure and say Howdy! See you soon!

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Habanero peach salsa

Servings4

AuthorLisa Fain

Ingredients

2large yellow tomatoes, peeled and diced

4medium peaches, peeled and pitted

1/4cupcilantro

1/4medium yellow onion, diced

2teaspoonslime juice

½habanero, seeded and diced

Salt

Instructions

To peel the tomatoes, I make an X at the base, throw them into a pot of boiling water for 10 seconds, and then peel the skin. I do the same for the peaches, but leave them in the pot for 30 seconds.

Be very, very, very careful when cutting the habanero as the juices can burn your skin.

Throw everything in the blender, and mix until it has a rough consistency.

Texas has a respectable summer Peach Crop centered around the Hill Country town of Fredericksburg.They are good and even great based on the weather, but even I will admit to a preference for Georgia peaches which are a usually a larger and juicier variety.Just about anything is better fresh though, and I live close to the source so I’m not complaining-lol

Oh poo. This sounds so yum, but in London the peaches aren’t very sun-kissed because they’re not local so they were picked greenish, and yellow tomatoes are rare.Not sure I’ve ever seen habaneros either.

I will have to WAIT until I maybe move back to Texas (YES) to do this one!!!

Jeffrey, thanks for the lowdown on Texas peaches. I have spent a lot of time in Atlanta during peach harvest season and they are almost near the quality of Niagara Peninsula peaches. Like growing grapes, the cool evenings really contribute to a luscious fruit and Niagara’s climate is ideal. I am sure a few will argue this point, but at least they are in the same league.Now Olivia, what’s with the Brits lack of interesting produce and fruit ? I thought all that was changing. Nothing is more foul than biting into a mealy carbon dioxide induced peach.

Enjoy the trip to Austin. It’s probably still paint-peeling hot down there right now, but anytime is a good time to be there. If you get the chance, you might want to check out the Eastside Cafe on Manor Road. Great little place with many of the dishes made with the cafe’s own organic produce, harvested from its own garden in the back. AND FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE – DON’T PASS UP THE DESSERTS!

I’ve really enjoyed your blog and have it as my weekly feature on sullicom.blogspot.com. I hope it helps a few others discover you, too.

Pear honey is absolute heaven on earth. Hi, stumbled in here from Andrea’s blog,the title caught my eye since I’m an expat Texan myself. I’m in Northern Illinois, and other than an overwhelming craving for good enchiladas, I’ve adapted well. My husband likes to go to work and brag about his wife who makes “real” chicken fried steak. Most of his coworkers have no clue what he’s talking about. Enjoy your trip home! Shel

wow! I LOVE that you blend your salsa! The flavors just meld together so much better. When I was still in Texas, whole foods got a new recipe for peach chipotle salsa and it was just so..blah. My boss would not believe me that if he used fresh peaches and blended it rather than left it chunky, it’d come out beautifully. ::sigh:: oh well. I’ll definitely have to try this recipe. I’ve grown way too attached to my classic tomato serrano garlic salsa….

I found this in wikipedia and thought you might find it of interest:“A Texas wiener is a hot dog creation legend that was created in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, independently of each other. The Altoona, Pennsylvania Texas Hot Dog was created in 1918, while the Paterson, New Jersey Hot Dog was created in 1924. Altoona’s original Texas Hot Dogs shop is still open today, although it has moved from its original location. The chain has also expanded into other parts of the county.

The wiener, also referred to as an all-the-way dog, consists of a hot dog covered in mustard (many fans of these prefer brown mustard over yellow), diced onions, and chili sauce.”

You have an old entry about texas wiener…now if oonly i can figure out why a”texas burger” has a fried egg on it…

Hmmm, that’s not nearly enough habanero. At least use the whole thing! What you gonna do with the other half? Ribbon the sucker and knead in to a burger! Lovely little darlings.Be very careful using the bathroom after messing with peppers. Man, be very careful. Habanero and tender parts … hurt! Oh, and don’t pick your nose.

it was good to meet you this weekend. i’ll never forget that egregiously bad green sauce – it’s seared into my memory. hope the rest of your trip went well. look us up when you come back through austin. we’re usually at the gingerman drinking frank’s beer!

Tommy–Yes, the Hill Country is known for its peaches. For some reason, however, they’re not allowed to be sold outside of the state.

AnnieKNodes–This would be terrific with pork chops!

Jeffery–I admit Georgia peaches can be larger and juicier, but there’s just something about the way a Hill Country peach tastes.

Olivia–You don’t have fresh peaches in London? Sheesh! You can make this with red tomatoes, though and it will still taste good.

Cynthia–Yep, scotch bonnets, which are like habaneroes, are popular where you live, right?

Lydia–If only all my chores could be so pleasurable!

SulliCom–Didn’t make it to East Side this trip, but have dined there in the past–such a lovely restaurant!

Frank–It was mighty fine finally meeting you–hope I can do the judging again next year!

Radish–Austin is a fine town–hope you can get back there soon.

Jerry–I don’t think Taco Deli won. I wish the salsas had not been submitted to us for tasting without identification–I’d be curious to see if one of the ones I tasted did win.

Christine–Did your jaw hurt the next day? I could barely move mind due to all that continous chomping!

Chris–You can make it with red as well if you can’t find yellow tomatoes.

Ivonne–Thanks! It was indeed wonderful going back home!

Caffeinated Cowgirl–I agree, the sweetness of the fruit mitigates some of the fire but none of the flavor.

Shel Franz–Sadly we didn’t make any, but I did try some and you’re correct–absolute heaven on earth indeed!

Rosa–Thanks! If you have fresh peaches available to you give it a try!

Mike–Ha! It’ll cool down there soon enough!

Homesick Houstonian–I agree, I’m not a big fan of chunky salsas because, as you say, the flavors just don’t meld as well.

Linda–Yes! It’s the perfect late-summer salsa

Nicole–Yea! I hope you enjoy it. And how fortunate to have such local access to yellow tomatoes. They’re so bright and lovely!

Homesick Houstonian–Thanks for the info! Actually, there’s a restaurant in Dallas called the Porch that’s serving a burger with a fried egg–that’s the only time I’ve heard of it being served that way in Texas so I wonder if the chef isn’t from there. The fried egg thing reminds me more of New Mexico where they sometimes plop a fried egg on top of their stacked enchiladas.

Rev. Biggles–Ha! You’ve got quite the heat tolerance! And your observation about chile heat the second time around is so true.

James–Yep, perfect combination!

SteamyKitchen–My lips didn’t fall off but my jaw sure ached. Perhaps I should have built up my stamina by chewing gum instead.

Carey–Wonderful to meet you as well! And I shudder to think about that salsa–what were they thinking? I’ll be back in November so I’ll try to hook up w/ y’all!

Sandi–What’s cheaters peach salsa?

Scribbit–Peach and mango salsas were just made for seafood. And coconut salmon sounds divine!

I forgot to come back and tell you that I did make this salsa and it was amazing! Unfortunately I didn’t have a habanero but I just substituted a couple of jalalpenos instead. It was really good with blue corn chips and we also spooned it over some grilled pork tenderloin. Thanks for another great recipe!

I've been living in Beirut the last few years, a Houstonian turned Longhorn, and go through your recipes when I get a culinary twang for home or suffer through one of the "Mexican" restaurants here. I always have a few on the back burner waiting for the ingredients to pop up. We get almost everything, (including Blue Bell strangely enough) thanks to apparently really close Texan ties in the large grocery stores' ordering departments but we get them really unpredictably so its always a treat when my life is graced with the right set of ingredients at the right time. This one is happening tomorrow and I can't wait!

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